[QUOTE=MichelleH;8814444]
Hi All!
I’m a summer intern at The Chronicle of the Horse and currently trying to write a piece on horse hydration.
I was at a show last week and despite the crazy heat and my best efforts, I could not convince the horse I was tending to drink!
Does anyone have any tips for getting horses to drink?
Thanks!
Michelle :)[/QUOTE]
Hi Michelle,
I find that bringing water from home is an excellent way to get fussy drinkers to drink. Some horses just don’t like the taste of “foreign” water. I’ll also sprinkle alfalfa flakes (my horse requires alfalfa flakes as a stomach buffer at shows and loves it) in the water. There are many approaches to change the taste of water including adding mint leaves, gatorade, alfalfa, other electrolytes, but the success depends on acclimating the horse to the taste of these items at home so they recognize the taste as “normal”.
